Records of the Kansas Governor’s Office

James Madison Harvey administration
Jan. 11, 1869 – Jan. 13, 1873

• Overview of the Records
• History and Biography
• Scope and Contents of the Records
• Organization of the Records
• Related Records
• Other Finding Aid
• Bibliography
• Index Terms
• Restrictions on Access
• Restrictions on Use
• Preferred Citation
• Acquisition Information
• Processing Information
• Accruals
• Detailed Description of the Records
• Appendix: Contents of Justice of the Peace Appointment Folders

Overview of the Records

Repository

Kansas State Historical Society (Topeka)

Creator

Kansas. Governor (1869-1873 : Harvey)

Title

Kansas Governor James Madison Harvey correspondence files ; petitions
Portion of title:

• Correspondence files ; petitions
• Petitions

Other titles

• Records
• Records of the Kansas Governor’s Office : administration of Governor James Madison Harvey (1869-1873)
• Records of the Office of the Governor of Kansas : James Madison Harvey administration (1869-1873)

Dates

1869-1873

Quantity

2 ft. (5 boxes)
1 v. (136 p.)
1 oversize folder (0.1 ft.)

Abstract

Fifth governor of the State of Kansas, 1869-1873; of Fort Riley (Kan.)

Correspondence and other items received and petitions received during the administration of James Madison Harvey, governor of the State of Kansas from 11 Jan. 1869 to 13 Jan. 1873. Major topics include counties, Indian affairs, appointments, railroads, Relief Acts, state agencies, Price’s Raid & soldiers’ claims, the U.S. Centennial Exposition, the federal government, immigration, state lands, livestock, and military matters. Additional records of Governor Harvey are in separate series common to several governors including an Executive record (Official record), 1861 – 1879; Executive proclamations, 1861 – 1980; Pardon and parole files: Women’s Industrial Farm, 1863 – 1919; Pardons, 1865 – 1883; Letter press books, 1865 – 1904; Applications for pardons, 1868 – 1877; Letter register, 1871 – 1895; a Record of death sentences, 1872 – 1906; and Death sentence warrants, 1872 – 1908.

Identification

Record group 252.

Consult the Detailed Description of the Records section below for locations of individual series and folders.

Language

Text is in English.

Notes

This finding aid describes materials held by the Kansas State Historical Society. Materials may be used in the Research Room in the society’s Center for Historical Research during regular research hours. Support for telephone, mail, and online reference and research is limited.

In a continuing effort to improve the completeness and accuracy of finding aids, revisions are made as more or new information becomes available. Consequently finding aids in paper format and on the society’s web site may differ slightly.

History and Biography

History of the Office of the Governor

The Wyandotte Constitution of 1859 established the office of the governor of the State of Kansas. Some of the more important duties, functions, and responsibilities of the governor are to see that the laws are faithfully executed, to require written explanations from other executive officers — at that time the lieutenant governor, secretary of State, auditor, treasurer, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction — upon any subject relating to their respective duties, convene the Legislature by proclamation on extraordinary occasions, communicate in writing such information as he may possess in reference to the condition of the State at the commencement of every legislative session, recommend such measures as he may deem expedient, and commission officers of the State.

No formal qualifications for the governor have been legislated, aside from the provision that no member of Congress or officer of the State or United States can serve. The governor is elected by a plurality, not a necessarily a majority, of votes cast. The governor takes office the second Monday in January following election. He was authorized to hire a private secretary, pardon attorney, and other staff as appropriations permitted.

By 1869, the governor had the power to appoint Militia officers and members of part - time boards of directors, trustees, or regents of the State Penitentiary (now Lansing Correctional Facility), schools of higher education, the State insane asylum (now Osawatomie State Hospital), and schools for deaf and blind students; a Board of Visitors for the State Agricultural College (now Kansas State University); the Bureau of Immigration; and the Commission for Care of Destitute Orphans and Children of State Soldiers as well as the State librarian. He was also an ex officio member of the State Board of Canvassers, boards of directors of the Agricultural College and Normal School, the Bureau of Immigration, the Board of Treasury Examiners, and other minor commissions. During Governor Harvey’s term, the governor was also given the authority to appoint a superintendent of insurance.

Biography of James Madison Harvey

James M. Harvey was born 21 September 1833 near Salt Sulphur Springs, Monroe County, Virginia, today part of West Virginia. He was the son of Thomas Jefferson Harvey and Mary Walker Harvey and grew up with four brothers. He was educated at common and select schools throughout Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. Harvey’s ancestors for many generations were Virginians and his paternal ancestor in America was Henry Harvey who came from England around the year 1725. His parents removed from the Old Dominion when their son James was just an infant; settled first in Rush County, Indiana; later moved to Iowa; and finally on to Adams County, Illinois, where they both died leaving eight children with an abundance of heritage. Their household included a large family of orphaned nephews and nieces who lived and worked together until they left for independence.

By the age of ten his favorite pastime was to engulf himself in a book of history so large that he could hardly handle the sheer volume. Harvey was known for his extraordinary memory and to the day of his death was very accurate in recalling historical events.

James Harvey initially trained as a surveyor and civil engineer and harbored a thirst for knowledge of history of any kind. James Harvey married Charlotte Richardson Cutter in 1854 while he was in Adams County teaching school and surveying land.

While Harvey resided in Adams County, he joined a party heading west to take part in the great Pike’s Peak gold strike in Colorado. However, along the trail his caravan came across too many disappointed miners, so he decided to turn around at Fort Kearney, Nebraska, and went back to Riley County, Kansas. There, in 1859, he obtained a land preemption claim near Vinton, moved his family to Kansas, and secured numerous jobs near the Fort Riley Military Reservation to pay for his land; he earned money by teaching school, quarrying rock, and driving freight wagons. He expanded his land hold after he became a full time rancher. Originally a Whig partisan, he became a Republican by the time he settled in Kansas.

James and Charlotte Harvey had four sons and four daughters, all born in Riley County.

As a Kansas citizen Harvey became interested in the affairs of public welfare and was recognized as a person of patriotic spirit, keen ability and of extraordinary intelligence. He consulted on several matters of importance that led to admission of Kansas as a free (non-slavery) State.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861 he enlisted in the Union Army and quickly obtained the rank of captain; he later became a brigadier general in the Kansas State Militia. Harvey had long been firm on anti-slavery and fought bravely as a Union soldier in the Civil War. He served as captain of Company G, 10th Kansas Volunteer Infantry, and took part in the battle of Prairie Grove in Arkansas. Harvey fought in subsequent campaigns throughout Missouri, Arkansas, and the Indian Territory. In 1864, Captain Harvey along with his entire regiment was mustered out of the service but subsequently was commissioned a colonel of the 14th Regiment, Kansas State Militia, and called upon to repel the raid of Confederate General Sterling Price.

In the fall of 1865, he returned to his farmland. Harvey was elected to the Kansas State Legislature that same year. While a legislator he rendered sound advice in the untangling of several problems left by the War to be resolved and the unfinished state of Kansas affairs. In 1867 – 68 he was elected a member of the Kansas State Senate. Republicans opposed to Thaddeus H. Walker, candidate of the Liberal Republican party, re-elected Harvey to represent the Seventh District in the State Senate. As an inspiring legislator he gained much admiration and respect from the senior leadership of the commonwealth. Prior to the Republican primaries in 1868, Harvey secured immense support for the gubernatorial nomination in more then a dozen counties. In the fall of 1868, Harvey was elected the Republican candidate for governor and won; he was re-elected to that office in 1872. Good “Old Honesty,” as he was called, won the hearts and minds of the Kansas people and its Legislature and sailed through two terms as governor. He was the first Kansas governor to serve two full terms and the first governor to later represent Kansas in the United States Senate. He was also the first to serve in the newly built State Capitol, and he occupied the first completed section of the east wing. The Governor lived at the Teft House residence hotel at Seventh Street and Kansas Avenue while his wife resided on the family farm near Vinton.

While Harvey was governor the cattle trade grew immensely and the cowboy and the “longhorn” became the order of the Kansas prairies. This activity brought new violence and recklessness among the rich cowmen and local citizens where the legends of the old Wild West began. Sheriffs and many locally deputized lawmen were kept employed by the lawless disorder and gun slinging in some western counties. Saloons, dance halls, and gambling dens ran wild for the benefit of the cowboy and lawless thugs. But law and order gradually ruled the day and community prosperity increased. The shipments of cattle from Wichita and Dodge City were seldom less then 200,000 head a year. The construction of the rail system in Kansas by March of 1869 enabled the first train on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad (the present Burlington Northern Santa Fe) to reach Topeka, and on 1 September 1870, the Union Pacific Railway (now the Union Pacific Railroad) reached Denver, Colorado. This remarkable feat of the railway system allowed the State population to dramatically increase, thus making Kansas eligible for three representatives in Congress. The welcomed advertisements seeking new settlers were written in several languages, and the Kansas Pacific Railway (now part of the Union Pacific) became the primary vessel that brought several hundreds of foreigners from across the world to Kansas. The emigrants were settled in colonies along with their old - world customs and legends that are today preserved intact on the prairies. During the administration of Governor Harvey, the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia with his entourage explored and hunted on the Kansas plains. The Grand Duke’s party was received and honored in Topeka by Governor Harvey and the Legislature. In 1870, the Labor Party organized and held its first convention of that year promoting a two thousand dollar tax exemption and the inherent right to land ownership. While Kansas was rapidly growing as an agricultural State, the need for an organized system of cooperation, protectionism, and legal advocacy was recognized, especially for large farms. Appropriate and streamlined polices of cattle and crop policing that had proven effective elsewhere were adopted.

On 2 February 1874, Harvey was elected to the United States Senate to serve the remaining term of Alexander Caldwell upon his resignation. While United States senator for only three years, he held many important positions: chairman of the Select Committee to Examine the Appropriateness of the Many Branches of the Civil Service; a member of the Committee for Public Lands, Agriculture, and Mining; and service on the Select Committee for Regulating Levee Systems of the Mississippi.

By 1884, Governor Harvey’s health began to decline, and the family moved to Norfolk, Virginia, for three years and again to Richmond, Virginia, for three years in hope that the warmer climate would aid him. In 1890, Governor Harvey moved back to the farm in Riley County where he remained until his death in 1894, the only exception being the summer and fall of 1891 when he did government surveying throughout south and southwest Kansas.

James Harvey died on 15 April 1894 of Bright’s Disease at his farm near Vinton in Riley County; he is buried at Highland Cemetery in Junction City, Kansas. His wife and six of his children survived him. Kansas mourned their finest and brightest man of the times who sacrificed so much for his beloved State of Kansas. The Honorable Edward Secrest once wrote of Governor Harvey: “Whether driving oxen in breaking the prairie, or moving among his distinguished peers in the United States Senate chamber; whether offering shelter to the many early settlers who called at his home, or conferring with councilors of state at the capital, he remained a true son of the Kansas prairie in mood, heart and soul, and always in republican simplicity.”

Scope and Contents of the Records

Governor James Madison Harvey’s records consist of two series in 128 folders and 1 oversize folder.

The primary series is Correspondence Files, 1869 – 1873 (no. 03413). Items in this series are mostly letters received by Governor Harvey however; there may also be proclamations and some petitions, reports, copies of letters sent and other types of documents available. Some proclamations may have been interfiled with other items received relating to the subjects of the proclamations.

The Correspondence Files (series 03413) consist of three subseries: Appointment Files, 1869 – 1872 (no. 1); State Agency Files, 1869 – 1873 (no. 2); and Subject Files, 1869 – 1872 (no. 3).

The Appointment Files (subseries 1), folders 1 – 67, contain documents and signed petitions on behalf of the appointments of individuals to a variety of jobs in State government; major appointments include governing boards, commissioners of deeds, judges, justices of the peace, and directors of institutions. See the folder lists, below, for specific positions. The justices of the peace appointment files primarily contain letters of resignation and letters received by candidates as well as petitions on behalf of individual applicants; some files also contain information on other vacancies, such as judges, filled by gubernatorial appointment. Descriptions of the contents of individual folders are in the Appendix. Correspondence related to the State librarian, 1870, pertains to the appointment of the Reverend Mr. David Dickinson of Wyandotte County. The State Penitentiary clerk file, 1870, contains a letter requesting the appointment of H. C. Fields. The folder for State Penitentiary director, 1871, includes a petition to appoint G. Wood. An unsuccessful petition, 1869, to appoint Nelson Merchant as a member of the Price Raid Commission is in the file for that organization. Letters, 1870, supporting the appointment of W. D. Blackford as adjustment agent for soldiers’ claims in Washington, D.C., are part of that position’s file.

The State Agency Files (subseries 2), folders 68 – 74, pertain to the conduct and officials of State institutions; some of these files also contain information relating to appointments. The Agricultural College file, 1869, consists of a table by Isaac Goodnow depicting the sale of State lands during the administrations of Governors S. J. Crawford and Nehemiah Green but submitted to Governor Harvey. The files for the attorney general, 1869 – 1872, and State Asylum for the Blind (now Kansas State School for the Blind), 1870 – 1871, contain petitions and letters requesting the appointments of specific individuals. Similarly, the State auditor file promotes the candidacy of Alois Thomann as State auditor. The Normal School (now Emporia State University) file, 1869, contains a letter to invite Governor Harvey to present students their diplomas and give the commencement address. The Kansas State Penitentiary (now Lansing Correctional Facility) file, 1870 – 1871, consists of letters requesting the removal of Warden J. L. Philbrick for dereliction of duty. The State Legislature file, 1869 – 1872, includes letters to the Governor pertaining wide range of State legislative matters.

The Subject Files (subseries 3), folders 75 – 128, contain information on a variety of topics. The State Bonds file (folder 75), 1869 – 1871, contains letters effecting the issue, sale and purchase of State bonds. In the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia file (folder 76), 1872, are proclamations for the International Centennial Exhibition to be held in Philadelphia in 1876. The Price Raid Claims file (folder 77), 1869 – 1872, consists of various claims by people affected by the Price Raid and the passage of the Price Raid Bill. The County Affairs files (folders 78 – 105) include a wide range of issues pertaining to the State’s counties from 1869 through 1871. Criminal Matters files (folders 106 – 109), 1869 – 1872, include letters and petitions to the Governor requesting pardons of prisoners and the pursuit and capture of criminals from other States, letters requesting that Kansas lawmen capture and detain prisoners wanted in Texas and nearby territories, letters offering rewards for the capture of hardened criminals running loose in Kansas, and letters pertaining to the holding of felons for authorities and requesting permission to pardon those convicted. The Federal Government folder (no. 110), 1869 – 1872, pertains to federal laws and amendments to the Constitution affecting all States of the Union; it includes a request for the Department of the Interior to replace statute volumes missing from the State Library of Kansas and a United States Census Bureau request for information with reference to the official boundaries of counties and townships in the State. The file on Immigration (folder 111), 1869 – 1871, contains applications from individuals desiring to be in charge of promoting immigration to Kansas; replies to Governor Harvey’s requests to governors of other States for copies of their immigration agencies’ annual reports; requests from potential immigrant groups for information about Kansas; letters wanting the Governor’s endorsement of their efforts to bring groups to Kansas; a request from the Excelsior Co-operative Colony of Kansas for land in Republic County, rifles, and other assistance; correspondence with the governor of Wisconsin about a proposed conference about immigration issues; and the resignation letter of George Crawford as commissioner of immigration on account of the Legislature’s failure to fund the operations costs of the office. The file on Indians (folders 113 – 116), 1869 – 1872, includes letters from the Governor asking the command at Fort Harker to ascertain rumors or facts concerning hostile Indians in the Salina valley; letters addressing the outrage of systematic murder by Pawnee Indians of citizens of Ellsworth County; a letter petitioning Governor Harvey concerning murderous Indian raids on Norwegian and Swedish settlers in Republican and Jewell counties, correspondence from those counties, and letters between General John McAllister Schofield and Governor Harvey concerning hostile Indian parties harassing Scandinavian settlers (ultimately General George A. Custer and 7th U.S. Cavalry were dispatched from Ft. Leavenworth westward to assess the situation); a letter pertaining to an Indian raid on the family of John Friend of Butler County, the capture of their eight year old son, and a letter asking the Governor for aid to recover the child; a letter from the U.S. Department of the Interior granting permission to Spotted Tail and other Dakota Indian leaders to hunt bison in western Kansas under escorts of federal agents; letter petitions asking Governor Harvey to allow citizens of Osborne City to form militias to confront hostile Indians in the area; and a letter from Major General John Pope, Commander of Ft. Leavenworth, to Governor Harvey stating that troops would not be sent to Harper, Comanche and Clark counties to quell Indian hostilities before the spring of 1873. In the International Exposition (Vienna) folder (no. 117), 1872, a letter addressed to Governor Harvey concerns the opening of the International Exposition in May of 1873, Vienna, Austria. The International Music Festival (Boston) file (folder 118), 1872, contains an invitation from Mayor William Gaston of Boston for Governor Harvey to attend the music festival on April 23rd, 1872. The Lands file (folders 119 – 122), 1869 – 1872, consists of letters, federal correspondence and deeds pertaining to Kansas State lands and petitions concerning the rights of holders in the Cherokee Neutral Lands. The folder on Livestock (Texas cattle) (no. 123), 1869 – 1871, contains letter petitions concerning the safe shipment of Texas cattle north through Kansas and preventing Texas cattle disease from spreading to domestic livestock. Matters of personal appeasement, agriculture, business, and banking affecting State affairs constitute the Miscellaneous Issues file (folder 125), 1869 – 1872. The folder on Railroads (no. 126), 1869 – 1872, contains official letters of request for Kansas rail line maps, discussion of rail security in light of possible Indian raids, letters requesting the appointments of rail agents, rail legislation proposals, and letters to the Department of the Interior requesting land surveys for rail line extensions. The Relief Act file (folder 126), 1869 – 1872, contains letter petitions requesting Governor Harvey to provide relief and provisions to areas affected by Indian raids and natural disasters. The Resignations folder (no. 127), 1869 – 1870, consists of letters of resignation from State officials. The Washington’s Birthday Celebration folder (no. 128), 1871, has in it an invitation for Governor Harvey to attend a George Washington’s Birthday celebration on February 20 and 21, 1871.

The other series of Governor Harvey’s records is Petitions, ca. 1869 – ca. 1873 (no. 04890). It includes requests to appoint a special county commissioner and clerk in Sumner County, designate specific towns as county seats in Rooks and Russell counties, organize Mitchell County, and appoint specific individuals as temporary officials in Barton and Osborne counties.

Additional files that record activities of the Harvey administration may be found in the series Executive Record (Official Record), 1861 – 1879 (no. 05968); Executive Proclamations, 1861 – 1980 (series 03450); Pardon and Parole Files: Women’s Industrial Farm, 1863 – 1919 (no. 03660); Pardons, 1865 – 1883 (no. 03789); Letter Press Books, 1865 – 1904 (series 03398); Applications for Pardons, 1868 – 1877 (no. 03790); Letter Register, 1871 – 1895 (series 03463); a Record of Death Sentences, 1872 – 1906 (series 03782); and Death Sentence Warrants, 1872 – 1908 (series 03781). These series contain records of a number of governors.

The series Executive Record (Official Record), 1861 – 1879 (no. 05968), provides chronological summaries of the Governor’s official actions, including in some cases summaries of communications sent. Pages 216 – 323 of the Executive Record (Official Record) contain information about documents created and actions taken during Harvey’s tenure; included is a list of lands selected in the U.S. General Land Office Junction City District for State use.

Folder 3 of box 1 of Executive Proclamations, 1861 – 1980 (series 03450), contains the single proclamation issued during the Harvey administration.

Some of the files in the series Pardon and Parole Files: Women’s Industrial Farm, 1863 – 1919 (no. 03660) are from the Harvey administration. The records are arranged alphabetically by inmates’ names, so identifying records for this period would require looking at each file and determining its date. There are restrictions on access to these records.

Entries in the second volume of Pardons, 1865 – 1883 (series 03789), for the period 2 February 1869 through 13 January 1873 contain information about pardons issued by Governor Harvey.

Letter Press Books, 1865 – 1904 (series 03397), contain copies of letters and telegrams sent. Recipients included citizens of Kansas and other States, other elected officials, heads of State institutions and departments, the adjutant general, members of the Kansas congressional delegation, other governors, members of the Legislature, railroad officials, newspaper editors, military officers, local officials, and the president and vice president. Topics addressed included State institutions, departments, and programs; appointments; events; counties, investigations; the cattle trade; land; claims; the military; State funds; immigration; Native American issues; laws and legislation, pardons; and other topics mirroring letters received by governors. Some of the letters were written by secretaries and other staff. Some volumes have alphabetical indexes by recipient and subject. Copies of letters and telegrams sent during Harvey’s term are in volume one, pages 1 – 129.

Applications for Pardons, 1868 – 1877 (series 03790), received by Governor Harvey during his term include requests from 20 January 1869 through 10 December 1872.

A Letter Register, 1871 – 1895 (series 03463), was also begun during Harvey’s tenure. Entries for individual letters received contain the dates the letter was written and received, the name and city of the writer, and a brief summary of the contents. There is an alphabetical index at the front of each volume. Entries for the Harvey administration are in volume A, pages 1 – 26.

Also initiated during Governor Harvey’s term were two records series relating to capital punishment: a Record of Death Sentences, 1872 – 1906 (series 03782), and Death Sentence Warrants, 1872 – 1908 (series 03781). The former volume begins with an alphabetical index and then initially lists the convicted, the court and county, the date convicted, whose murder they were found guilty of, and the date of the warrant and of the filing. Remarks are usually referenced to a later page. The format quickly switches out of list form and devotes pages to each condemned person in turn. While the same information is usually covered, the jury’s verdict and other related documents that may be found in Death Sentence Warrants, series 03781, are usually handwritten onto these pages. This volume may have served as the Governor’s record of receipt for the documents in the Death Sentence Warrants, series 03781. Pages 1 and 5 include the only entry during Harvey’s term. The latter series consists of copies of warrants, arranged generally chronologically, sent to the governor, whose approval was required; sometimes related documents from the judge, county sheriff or attorney, clerk of the District court, or jury foreman are included. The entry for 2 November 1872 is from the Harvey administration.

Records of other offices of Kansas government — particularly the secretary of State, record group 622, and attorney general, record group 82 — will give additional information about State activities during this period. Papers of other prominent political figures of the time, most of which are held by the Kansas State Historical Society, may also offer insights about Kansas politics and government during the Harvey administration.

The Society’s manuscript collection has a collection of James Madison Harvey’s personal correspondence, speeches, and papers, 1834 – 1922 (manuscript collection #375), 0.8 ft.; some official letters and messages to the Legislature are included in the collection. A collection register (finding aid) is available on the society’s web site or in its Reference Room.

Organization of the Records

Subgroup. Organized by type of material and format.

Contents: Ser. 03413. Correspondence files, 1869-1873 — ser. 04890. Petitions, ca. 1869-ca. 1873.

Related Records

Records of the Kansas Attorney General’s Office, record group 82
Records of the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office, record group 622

Other Finding Aid

Copies of this finding aid are available in the Research Room of the Center for Historical Research and on its web site, http://www.kshs.org.

Bibliography

Drury, James W. The Government of Kansas. 3d ed. Lawrence: Regents Press of Kansas, ©1980. Available in the Kansas State Historical Society (KSHS) Reference Room: call no. K 350.7 D845 1980.

Harder, Marvin A. The Governor of Kansas: An Analysis of Decision-Making Opportunities, Constraints, and Resources. Topeka, Kans.: Capitol Complex Center, University of Kansas, 1981, ©1982. Available in the KSHS Reference Room: call no. SP 378 Z C172 pam.v.1 no. 1 .

Socolofsky, Homer E. Kansas Governors. Lawrence, Kans.: University Press of Kansas, ©1990. Available in the KSHS Reference Room: call no. K BB So13.

Index Terms

Persons

Harvey, James Madison, 1833-1894. (subject and co-creator)

Corporate Names

Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)
Kansas. Governor (1869-1873 : Harvey)–Archives.
Kansas. Governor (1869-1873 : Harvey)–Records and correspondence.

Geographic Names

Kansas–Emigration and immigration.
Kansas–Military policy.
Kansas–Officials and employees–Selection and appointment.
Kansas–Politics and government–1865-1950.
United States–History–Civil War, 1861-1865–Claims.

Subjects

Civil-military relations–Kansas.
Federal government–Kansas.
Federal government–United States.
Indians of North America–Government relations–19th century.
Indians of North America–Kansas.
Livestock–Kansas.
Price’s Missouri Expedition, 1864.
Public institutions–Kansas.
Public lands–Kansas.
Public welfare–Kansas.
Railroads–Kansas.
State-local relations–Kansas.

Document Types

Government correspondence– Kansas.
Public records–Kansas.

Occupations

Governors–Kansas–Archives.

Restrictions on Access

None

Restrictions on Use

Notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). Most documents created by governmental entities, including the State of Kansas, are considered in the public domain, although copyright to documents found in public records that were written by individuals or organizations and sent to government agencies may be owned by the writers or their heirs.

Preferred Citation

Note: [document, folder, subseries, or series description], Harvey administration (1869 – 1873), records of the Kansas Governor’s Office, State archives record group 252, Library and Archives Division, Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka.

Bibliography: Kansas, Governor’s Office, Harvey administration (1869 – 1873). Records, 1869 – 1873. State archives record group 252, Library and Archives Division, Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka.

Acquisition Information

Transfer: Office of the Governor, date unknown

Processing Information

Inventory written by David F. Manning, volunteer, 2005.

Time spent in researching and writing this inventory has been donated by the author. Administrative expenses paid by the Kansas State Historical Society.

Accruals

No additional records are expected.

Detailed Description of the Records

Series 03414. CORRESPONDENCE, 1869 – 1873. 1 ft. (3 boxes).

Mostly letters received; there may also be proclamations and some petitions, reports, copies of letters sent and other types of documents. Some proclamations may have been interfiled with other items received relating to the subjects of the proclamations. Copies of letters sent are described below in the series Letter Press Book, 1869 – 1872 (no. 03398).

Organized into 3 subseries: (1) Appointment Files, 1869 – 1872; (2) State Agency Files, 1869 – 1873; and (3) Subject Files, 1869 – 1872 (no. 3).

Subseries 1. Appointment Files, 1869 – 1872. 0.8 ft. (2 boxes)

Documents and signed petitions on behalf of the appointments of individuals to a variety of jobs in State government; major appointments include governing boards, commissioners of deeds, judges, justices of the peace, and directors of institutions. The justices of the peace appointment files primarily contain letters of resignation and letters received by candidates as well as petitions on behalf of individual applicants; some files also contain information on other vacancies, such as judges, filled by gubernatorial appointment. Descriptions of the contents of individual folders are in the Appendix.

Arranged alphabetically by office

Subseries 2. State Agency Files, 1869 – 1873. 0.1 ft. (8 folders)

Records pertaining to the operation and officials of State institutions; some of these files also contain information relating to appointments.

Arranged alphabetically by agency name.

Subseries 3. Subject Files, 1869 – 1872. 0.75 ft. (54 folders)

Letters received on a variety of topics brought to the attention of the Governor.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

Series 04890. PETITIONS, ca. 1869 – ca. 1873. 0.1 ft. (1 oversize folder). Archives oversize folder 04-04-05 (map drawer M-3 4 2 T)

Included are requests to appoint a special county commissioner and clerk in Sumner County, designate specific towns as county seats in Rooks and Russell counties, organize Mitchell County, and appoint specific individuals as temporary officials in Barton and Osborne counties.

Arranged generally chronologically.

Other records series of multiple governors containing documents relating to the Harvey administration:

Series 05968. EXECUTIVE RECORD (OFFICIAL RECORD), 1861 – 1879. 1 v. (407 p.) 024-13-10-01

Bound copy of minutes, transcribed from or used in conjunction with the Executive Record (Secretary’s Minutes) (series 03458). Begins Feb. 8, 1861, and ends Dec. 15, 1879. These records contain information on government, civilian, and military appointments and commissions; extradition requests (requisitions); executed warrants; criminal pardons and sentence commutations; legislative bills and proclamations; land sites and offices; receipt of documents; and organization of new counties. This record is organized chronologically by year but organization of the above categories within the year changes frequently. As a result, it becomes more organized as the years pass. In the later years it was probably compiled at the end of the year from the Executive Record (Secretary’s Minutes) (series 03458), rather than used throughout the year as the beginning organization suggests.

Harvey administration: pp. 216 – 323

Series 03450. EXECUTIVE PROCLAMATIONS , 1861 – 1980. 4 ft. (7 boxes + 8 oversize boxes).

Proclamations and messages or speeches that were issued to the Legislature and / or the general public. They are usually in the form of newspaper clippings, typed originals, or carbon copies of the typed original. Some boxes are alphabetized by subject.

Harvey administration: box 1 (028-03-01-05), folder 3

Series 03660. PARDON AND PAROLE FILES: WOMEN’S INDUSTRIAL FARM, 1863 – 1919. 63 ft. (151 boxes). ACCESS RESTRICTED. 032-01-02-01 thru 032-03-07-04

Contains letters requesting opinions on parole, Parole Board verdict or certificate, and a prisoner history. Interfiled with Pardon and Parole Files for the Kansas State Industrial Reformatory, 1927-1945 (series 03659) and Parole Certificates Issued by the Coffeyville City Court, 1932-1936 (series 03661), as part of Subseries I, 63 ft. (151 boxes), 1863-1919, arranged alphabetically. Women are only contained in Subseries I; after 1919 women’s files are arranged separately as series 06304, Pardon and Parole of Female Inmates.

Arranged alphabetically by inmates’ names.

Series 03397. LETTER PRESS BOOKS, 1865 – 1904. [142] v. 027-02-08-04 thru 027-03-06-02

Exact copies of texts of letters sent by Governors S. J. Crawford and James Madison Harvey through Willis Joshua Bailey; there are no letters for Nehemiah Green. Most of the letters sent respond to concerns expressed to the governor. Subjects are generally similar to those in letters received by governors, including State institutions, departments, & programs; appointments; events; counties; investigations; the cattle trade; land; claims; the military; State funds; immigration; Native American issues; laws & legislation; pardons; and other topics mirroring letters received by governors. Recipients included citizens of Kansas & other States, other elected officials, heads of State institutions & departments, the adjutant general, members of the Kansas congressional delegation, other governors, members of the Legislature, railroad officials, newspaper editors, military officers, local officials, and the president & vice president.

Volumes arranged chronologically.

Some volumes indexed alphabetically by recipient and subject.

Harvey volume (“1”) (box 1, 027-02-08-04): 1869 – 1872. Letters from the first month, 13 January – 12 February 1873, of the administration of Thomas Andrew Osborn, Harvey’s successor, are in the back of the volume on pages 130 – 36.

Series 03463. LETTER REGISTER, 1871 – 1895. 2 v. 24-13-10-02 thru 24-14-01-01

Contains date written and received, writer name, city, and abstract of letter contents.

Alphabetical index to recipients at the beginning of each volume.

Harvey administration: vol. A, pp. 1 – 26

Ser. 03782. RECORD OF DEATH SENTENCES, 1872 – 1906. 1 v. (61 p.) 026-15-08-01

Lists the convicted, the court and county, the date convicted, whose murder they were found guilty of, and the date of the warrant and of the filing. Remarks are usually referenced to a later page. The format quickly switches out of list form and devotes pages to each condemned person in turn. While the same information is usually covered, the jury’s verdict and other related documents that may be found in Death Sentence Warrants, series 03781, are usually handwritten onto these pages. This volume may have served as the Governor’s record of receipt for the documents in the Death Sentence Warrants, series 03781.

Indexed alphabetically by prisoners’ names.

Harvey administration: pp. 1 and 5

Series 03781. DEATH SENTENCE WARRANTS, 1872 – 1908. 1 v. (unpaged) 26-15-08-01

Handwritten and typescript warrants that were sent to the Governor’s Office after the convicted person’s sentencing for the governor to approve when the date and time of execution had been set. Also included are related documents that were written by the sentencing judge, county sheriff or attorney, clerk of the District court, or jury foreman.

Arranged generally chronologically.

Harvey administration: 1872 Nov. 2

Records of the governor’s pardon attorney

Series 03789. PARDONS, 1865 – 1883. 4 v.

Includes date pardoned, name, county, crime, sentence, and remarks.

Harvey administration: v. 2, 1869 Feb. 5 – 1873 Jan. 13

Series 03790. APPLICATIONS FOR PARDON, 1868 – 1877. 1 v. (unpaged). 059-08-01-20

One volume dated Jan. 27, 1868 – June, 1877. This volume contains the date of application, the name of the applicant, who recommended the pardon, and remarks.

Harvey administration: 1869 Jan. 20 – 1872 Dec. 10

Appendix: Contents of Justice of the Peace Appointment Folders

All folders are in box 2.